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REMARKS 



OF THE 



HON. ROBERT T. CONRAD, 



CELEBRATION 



ANNIVEESAET of AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 



PHILADELPHIA REPEAL ASSOCIATION, 

AT THE 

ARCH STREET THEATRE, 
July 5, 1 841. 



PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION, 



PHILADELPHIA. 
:PRINTED BY CHARLES ALEXANDER, 

FHANKLIN PLACE. 

1841. 



f ^'^'l 
^-^^""s^ 



MBPM V|lk|M%ni 



ORATION. 



The limited time afforded by my official duties for the task 
which I arise to perform, has been, by other causes, circum- 
scribed to a few hours; and I now regret that it was not en- 
trusted with one of more ability and leisure than myself. Yet 
the duty should not be an arduous one. This is a festival 
rather of the heart than the head. It is a day that breaks the 
seals which close the great deep of our hearts, and bids our early, 
and world-chilled patriotism burst forth into its original and 
exulting freshness. It asks no cold philosophies, no deep dis- 
quisitions; but the union of virtuous hearts in devout thanks- 
giving for the blessings which this day hath secured our country. 
Such a duty should require no long-drawn note of preparation, 
but should spring, in living and palpitating fervor from the heart: 
and even if — as is now the case — he who ministers at the altar of 
liberty utter the rites but feebly, the deficiency will be over- 
borne by the truth of the faith and the fervor of the worship. 

I am one of those who would cherish our national Sabbaths. 
Properly spent, they inspire us with a holy political charity, a 
divine brotherhood in the cause of human rights; and teach that 
our common country is our common parent — that all her sons, of 
whatever clime or class, are our brethren, and that their happi- 



[4] 

ness demands the exercise of toleration and liberality between 
all sects and parties. 

But it is peculiarly the events commemorated by our national 
festival, that consecrate them. The traveller who sees the ever- 
recurring and court-appointed festivals of some of the despot- 
isms of Europe, naturally conjectures that their annals must be 
''pregnant with celestial firej" but he finds to his dismay, that 
this hollow merriment is to commemorate, probably the birth of 
some stupid and profligate royal driveller, or perhaps of some 
monarchof sterner stuff", who blessed his realm with glory, blessed 
it by sluicing the veins of his subjects to win a feather that must 
flaunt upon their tyrant's brow, making him more their tyrant. 
They are trampled to the dust, and groan, and rave, and die, and 
rot, by thousands, in their tortured wretchedness: and yet these 
people celebrate the birth of their monster-idol as a festival! 

The traveller, shocked and disgusted, turns his steps to Ame- 
rica. He find here but two national festivals. The former is 
the birth-day of a being so glorious as to be above the world's 
glory; a piece of moral statuary so perfect that the most carp- 
ing casuistry would not presume to pare or alter it — the nation's 
Father ! 

Our other festival celebrates the nation's birth. On this day, 
the sun as it rises and throws its beams over thousands of miles 
of field and wood and prairie and savannah, is greeted on every 
hill-top with the peal of cannon and the shout of joy. The mil- 
lions of the land are forth, and all is pride and triumph. Here 
at least — says the stranger — is no counterfeit. But why is all 
this? Is it required by the State, or dues it celebrate the tri- 
umph of government over strugu;ling and defeated patriots? And 
what is the answer? Look at the wave of the sea, playing with 
the morning beam, and careering in the wide expanse uncheck- 
ed: see the cataract leaping its rocky barrier and shouting its 
oy in a voice of everlasting thunder — why do they rejoice? See 
the eagle soaring, fetterless, and fearless, in the heavens: why 



[5] 

does he scream forth his joy, as with his vast wings he winnows 
the blue air on which he so proudly floats? Hearken to the an- 
swer. Sea, and torrent, and eagle, are free, and rejoice in their 
freedom! Behold us — a multitudinous people — from the frozen 
St. Lawrence to the torrid Caribean: — we, too, rejoice, for we, 
too, are free — free as the wave of the sea or the eagle of the 
mountain — free now, and, with the blessing of Heaven, free for- 
ever! 

But are we therefore satisfied? Are we so buried in selfish- 
ness, that if the sun of freedom but beam upon us, we care not 
though all the world beside be darkling in the night of oppression? 
Show me the man whose heart beats only within a circle so selfish 
and sordid, and I will show ynu one unworthy this sacred anni- 
versary — its men, its triumphs and its heritage, He who knows 
no sympathy which can be stretched be)'ond the paltry limits of 
his sect, his party, or his clime, is neither a good christian, nor a 
good man; but a mindless, heartless, throbless lump of acciden- 
tal and misnamed humanity. I am sure that no such man is 
among us — that of the thousands within the sound of my voice, 
there is not one who has not a place in his heart — and a large 
place, too — for the wrongs of the island of sorrow — oppressed 
and lovely Ireland. 

For myself, i own that as a christian man, I cannot see near- 
ly nine millions of my fellow creatures, of my own race, lan- 
guage and religion, sutler as does Ireland suffer, without deep 
sympatliy. As a freeman, I cannot but feel that their cause is 
my cause, and the cause of all who love liberty. For, sophisti- 
cate as we may, liberty is not, any more than truth, confined to 
metes and limits; its home is as universal as the home of God's 
blessed light. Its foes elsewhere are its foes here; its weakness 
is our weakness, its triumph our triumph, the wide world over. 

This day is devoted to the celebration of the Independence of 
our own cherished America. If the cause is holy here — (and the 
very air of America would poison the traitor who would saj 



[6] 

it is not,) why is it not holy there? Why should not Ireland, as 
well as America, be free and independent? I speak not of a hos- 
tile independence, but independent as Pennsylvania is indepen- 
pendent of New York, as brother is independent of brother, be- 
side the same cherished hearth and within the same hallowed 
circle. Ireland has her natural rights; and even if she were 
morally degraded and unlovely — instead of satnding before the 
world the incarnation of genius and patriotism — she is entitled 
to that liberty which God hath given to all men. He who sup- 
poses that Providence intended Ireland for her present fate, or 
that he sanctions the wrongs which overshadow her, blasphemes 
against Eternal Goodness. 

Why, then, should not Ireland be independent ? W^ould 
England suRer from it? If she did, it would only be because 
compelled to drop the spoil of her plundered sister. But she 
would not sufter. That which is unjust is never expedient. 
The curse of slavery reaches the oppressor as well as the oppress- 
ed; while it crushes the victim, it palsies and poisons the foot 
which treads upon him. England will never sleep soundly until 
justice is done to her sister kingdom. Ireland as her friend 
will be worth to herfifty Irelandsas her slave, and therefore her 
foe. 

Has not Ireland physical force sufficient f<ir self-main- 
tenance ? Physically, Ireland is, her extent considered, the 
wonder of the world. The number of her population rises like 
the swell of the ocean, despite the drains of war, poverty, op- 
pression and emigration. That population has (since the se- 
cond St. Patrick, Father Matthew, has passed, like the spring 
time, over it — making its desolate places green) all the virtues 
which render it productive. The industry of Ireland not only 
achieves all which English jealousy and oppression will permit 
it to achieve at home, but fills the factories, opens the mines, 
digs the canals, constructs the rail roads, mans the navies, and 
tills the glebe of half the world that speaks the English Ian- 



en 

guage beside. And this producing power exists on a soil- 
rich to a marvel, in a land abounding in mineral wealth, and 
with "an hundred harbors without a shoal" — a land almost with- 
out a rival in all (except freedom) that constitutes agricultural, 
manufacturing and commercial advantages. What mi^ht not 
such a country effect with her energies unshorn, her industry 
unshackled ? The Atlantean endurance of her world of op- 
pressions proves her giant strength. What nation, of equal 
extent, could live under the evils of absenteeism by which twen- 
ty millions of dollars per annum are drawn from her, not as the 
sun draws the moisture from the earth, to pour it back in fertiliz- 
ing showers upon the soil, but as the tortureropens the veins of his 
victim and draws forth the current of life, which lost once is 
lost forever. What land could bear the taxes she pays to dis- 
charge a debt which Ireland does not owe, and to support a 
church in which Ireland does not worship ? And with all this, 
it must be remembered that she pays ten millions of dollars for 
English manufactures, while her own are discouraged. Against 
capital, monopoly, opposition and taxation — whither can Ireland 
look for relief but to the restoration of her own Parliament and 
the protection of her own interests. 

Has not Ireland the moral requisites of self government — 
courage, intellect and patriotism ? Ask history what people 
have won the conquests of England ! Irish valor it is that has 
made the English sceptre all powerful ; and English magna- 
nimity, in grateful requital, makes it a sceptre of iron to crush 
and curse her sister. But Ireland needs the intellect neces- 
sary for self-government. Indeed I In the science of war, 
who conquered the world's conqueror but Irish Wellington? 
In philosophy, who led the way to the noblest aciiievements of 
science ? Irish Boyle. In statesmanship, Irish politicians have 
governed England herself. In eloquence, her orators have 
thrown a lustre not only around Britain, but around the whole 
race and over all time ; and in poetry and letters, who can for- 



[8] 

get her Swift, Goldsmith, Moore, and otliers, countless and 
brilliant stars that have shone out from the midniglit sky of 
Ireland's sorrows ? And can it be that Ireland, a luminary 
whose efflux of mind has lighted the world, is, in itself, unlit? 
Oppression — for it is as blind to the merits of its victim as it is 
deaf to his cries — oppression may credit the slander, but whis- 
per it not in the ears of freemen ! 

But there are other objections to the independence of Ireland: 
she is fiery and turbulent — sudden and quick in quarrel, and 
requires the yoke. If this be true, it is, under the circum- 
stances, most natural. What should a people be who have, for 
long ages, been crushed beneath the armed heel of power — who 
have been robbed of their national independence — subjected to 
famine, fire and sword — driven like wolves into caves, and 
when caught, dragged forth and hanged like wolves, by the 
way-side ? What should a land do whose sons have heard the 
history of these wrongs from mothers widowed by them— 
mothers who bore them, when babes, from their fired cottages, 
lighted on their flight by the conflagration, and hurried into 
wilder terror by the shrieks of relatives dying upon English 
bayonets, or reserved for a worse fate upon the gibbet ? Why, 
in the name of outraged human nature, what should a land do 
whose millions have shed tears of blood under such oppressions 
— a land tlie most favored of God — the most tortured of man — 
under heaven ? Would you have her dance in her chains over 
the bloody graves of her martyrs, and wreath her wan and 
famine-pinched features into the complaisance of meek and 
willing suRering .^ What did we, under wrongs not the tithe 
of a tithe of those of Ireland, but draw the sword, fling away 
the scabbard and pant through eight years of holy rebellion into 
freedom. Such was the course of as reflecting a people as ever 
existed ; — but such — and I rejoice in it — is not the course of 
Ireland. Her present position approves her to be law-abiding 
and loyal. 



[9] 

Behold her! Calm, self-possessed, and unresisting, she 
stands in her sorrows, with her pale, quiet brow, bared to the 
world, and her hand raised in appeal to the monarch's monarch 
— opinion. Her motto is, "he who commits a wrong, strength- 
ens the enemies of his country." Her reliance is in the belief 
that the advance of religion and knowledge has brought the 
time when truth is mightier than the sword. And have not 
such a people claims upon the sympathy of the world ? Has 
not an appeal so calm and just, claims upon the truthfulness of 
the world ? Is it a crime to think or feel with sufferers so sub- 
lime in their sorrow ? It cannot be that it is a fault, when we 
see our brother siricken to the earth and the steel uplifted to 
destroy, to say to the oppressor — " Hold ! hold ! You violate 
the laws of God and man !" 

"Who is it that dares complain of sympathy and interposition 
in behalf of Ireland ? Is it England } In enthusiastic admira- 
tion and esteem for the people i.){ England — their chivalry — their 
genius — their moral excellence — I will yield to no man. In 
science, the arts and letters, the world owes so large a debt to 
English genius, that it is a proud privilege to speak their lan- 
guage as a mother tongue. Still more is due to the English 
people for teaching the world how to assert the rights of man 
against a tyrannical government. All time will be lustrous 
•with the glory of their popular insurrections, especially those 
of 1649 and 1688 — the Mount .Rrarats of History — upon which 
the Ark of Liberty rested, when all the world beside was sub- 
merged in the dull and turbid waves of servility and moral de- 
gradation. For the patriotic and noble people of England, I 
cherish the most paternal feelings : why cannot their govern- 
ment represent their virtues ? Why cannot their haughty and 
over-bearing rulers catch the magnanimous and generous spirit 
of England's people, and learn justice and humanity ? But 
whither will the government of England turn to complain of 
the interference of foreign sympathy for Ireland ? To the 



[ 10] 

world at larger She will find no spot which her pragmatic 
policy has not deranged or oppressed. To Canada? Every 
cottage is guarded by an English bayonet. To France ? Eng- 
land threw the world into convulsion for quarter of a century 
by her interference with its government. To Spain.'' It is 
governed by her armies. To Portugal } She has given it "such 
protection as vultures give to lambs." To other continental 
nations ? She has given a king to one, and another to a king. 
To the West ? There is scarce a sovereignty — the United 
States excepted — which she has not, at one time or another, by 
force or machinations, controlled. To the East? Egypt has 
but within a few months changed her government under the fire 
of English cannon. To India ? with her hundred millions ot 
English sl-ivps^ — fo India, whirli slip miiHp a Phlegithon, running 
red and hot v/ith blood — to India, which she covered with ruin 
and darkened with smoke — a land where the silence of despair 
was only broken by the crack of the whip, the clank of the 
chain, or the shriek of the victim ? Immaculate and meek-spi- 
rited England ! Let her, to complete the cycle, raise her 
hand, crimsoned in the blood of every nation under heaven, and 
make her appeal to China, too, against foreign interference — 
China, which, for the crime of being wealthy, is about to be 
made, by just and gentle England, a howling and a desolation. 
Well has one of the most gifted of her own sons described her 
transgressions : 



We have offended very grievously, 
And been most tyrannous. From East to West, 
A groan of accusation pierces Heaven ! 
The wretched plead against us; multitudes, 
Countless and vehement, the sons of God, 
Our brethren ! like a cloud that travels on, 
Steanrd up from Cairo's swamps of pestilence ; 
Even so, my countrymen ! have we gone forth 
And b»trne to distant tribes slavery and pangs, 
And, deadlier far — our vices 1 



C 11] 

But let this modern Rome^ this Moloch of the nations, appeal 
whithersoever she may, so that she turn not to us— not to us. 
Not to the land^ in an effort to enslave which (a fruitless effort, 
thanks be to God and our gallant forefathers!) she destroyed an 
hundred thousand innocent lives ; not to the coutitij which, in a 
later struggle — induced by her most arrogant and oppressive in- 
terference — witnessed the massacre at the river Raisin, and the 
vandal destruction of the Capitol at "Washington ; not to the 
land whither, in time of peace, she has sent insurrectionary mis- 
sionaries to encite the ignorant blacks of -the south to acts that 
would " on horror's head horrors accumulate," to place the knife 
and torch in their hands and urge them on to rape and slaughter 
— to redden our rivers with the blood of our brethren murdered, 
and shock the heavens with the shrieks of violated innocence. 
Not to us be her appeal — whose vessels she is daily searching 
and insulting, and whose territory she boasts that she recently 
invaded, in the commission of a midnight felony, murderino- the 
unarmed and unoffending, firing the vessel in which they were 
found sleeping, and sending that vessel, freiglsted with the dead 
and the living, into the ocean-hell, Niagara ! Not to us be her 
appeal ! Her brow is even now knitted, and her arm upraised 
against us. Let her come on ; we fear her not. But, should 
the struggle come — as come I fear it will — the glorious specta- 
cle will again be presented, of Irishmen fighting upon the Ame- 
rican soil for American liberty j the green and blue will a'^ain 
be blended ; the harp again shine amid the stripes and starsj and 
Irish and American blood again mingle upon the same altar, an 
oblation to the common freedom of a common country. 

No, let not England complain of interference. Her whole ca- 
reer is one of dictation. She dictates to the world : let the world, 
for once, dictate to her. Our part, at least, shall be done ; and 
from the lakes to the gulf, thousands shall raise their voices 
against that measure of treachery and wrong, the Union, by which 
England hailed Ireland as a sister in order to make her a slave. 



[12] 

In this country, I cannot presume that any will be found to 
lecho the senseless objection as to interference; if, indeed, an 
expression of sentiment and feeling — a right of which no power 
on earth can deprive us — be interference. It certainly conflicts 
with no national law, nor with the law of that country nor 
this J and it will hardly be pretended, thata manifestation of in- 
terest in the cause of human liberty, anywhere, is a moral wrong. 
It is to this cause— to the reciprocal influence of the minds of 
nations — the national interchange of truth — that the advance of 
any branch of political and other knowledge, useful to the race, 
is to be ascribed. VN iihout this, the tire of civilization and im- 
provement would burn out in the contracted spot where it was 
ttrst kindled. 1 am in favor of a free trade in truth; and know 
no reason why human thought or human sympathy, when virtu- 
ous and beneficient, should be confined within prescribed limits. 

But the objection would come with peculiarly ill-grace from 
an American. France, in our darkest era, assisted us : was she 
p-uilty of wrong ? Washington besought that interference, and 
the diplomatic skill of Franklin secured it : were they guilty of 
moral wronir ? Among those who interfered in our behalf was a 
gallant, noble, man, the beloved of Washington, one whose ex- 
istence was devoted to universal liberty, whose life was a stream 
of living glory — 

If earth had ever cause for pride, 
For joy beyond all joy beside, 

'Twas that she bore a son like LaFayette ! 

Was he, too, guilty ? The doctrine would disrupt the holiest 
ties of gratitude which bind us to the past, and cast a shame and 
guilt over the noblest and best of our patriots. Kosciusko, Sten- 
ban, Montgomery — all — all were guilty ! Palsied be the ribahl 
tongue that speaks, and chilled with the chill of the grave the 
ingrate heart that conceives, so foul a wrong against our sainted 
and cherished ones I 



[ 13] 

But I have been speaking of the interference oi force in favor 
of our country: who dreams of force in relation to Ireland? No- 
thing is proposed or sanctioned that is not peaceful, lawful, and 
humane. If we be wrong, then were Howard's efforts in favor 
of the prisoners in the jails of the continent, wrong; if we be 
wrong, then are the holy exertions of our self-sacrificing mis- 
sionaries, v.'ho interfere with the degraded religion of pao-an 
countries, wrong. When was benevolence not interference.'' 
but is it, therefore, crime ? Such was the doctrine of the stony 
pharisee, who, indisposed to interfere to relieve the bleeding suf- 
ferer, crossed on the other side, leaving him to the mercies of 
the good Samaritan ; and such, too, is the doctrine of those who 
would now have us gaze, without a heart-throb, upon thesuiFer- 
ings and wrongs of our down-trodden brethren of Ireland. 

Brethren, indeed! I stand here surrounded by Ireland's sons 
and daughters. If the friends who, in your native isle, send 
their souls over the wide waters to embrace you, could look 
upon thisgorgeous scene — if the champion of Ireland, O'Connell 
himself, your own faithful and fearless, were present, could he 
consider himself an exile among strangers .'' No! no exile — 
no stranger. This is your country, and these your brethren. 
Come we not from the same womb .'* Ireland is the mother 
country of America. England gave us charters; Ireland, hearts 
and hands. England, it is true, settled America — but how } by 
oppression at home. It was English oppression that crowded 
our vallies with high-minded men, the foes of oppression in the 
old world, the jewels of liberty, worn in her heart of hearts, here. 
Few Americans, out of New England, and those sections ex- 
clusively German, can speak in derogation of Ireland or her 
sons, without shaming the blood that flows in their own veins, 
and slandering the dust that moulders in their own family vault. 
Are we not then brethren ? 

But we are not merely sprung from the same stock, but bap- 
tised in the same baptism of blood. Look at the muster roll* 



[ 14] 

of the revolution. In the continental line, a band of heroes who 
knew no signal for defeat, nearly every American shoulder wa» 
pressed by that of an Irishman — their hearts beat together — 
their arms struck together j their voices rose to the skies, their 
blood fell to the earth together! And, are we not brethren ? 

Why, who was it at Quebec Heights, at the head of our army, 
rushed on foremost, and foremost fighting, fell ? It was Irish 
Montgomery who first reddened that snow with his life's-blood j 
and is that blood forgotten ? Has it passed away as did the 
snow-wreath which it crimsoned, with "the nest sun's ray ?" 
If so, then fell that blood for hearts colder than the ice which it 
reddened ; if so, then Heaven avert from our country the curse 
which avenges ingratitude. But it is not so ! 

Upwards of sixty years since a gallant soldier fell at Prince- 
ton. His last glance was at the glorious banner before him— 
his last thought for his native clime ! What land did that no- 
ble spirit adorn ? It was Erin ! What banner floated over 
him ? It was the stars and stripes ! 

Is that martyr forgotten ? But a few days since and more 
than half a century after he was laid in a warrior's grave, we 
saw the military of the land for which he died, march in pilgrim- 
age to his resting place, with the banner for which he so gallantly 
fought mantled in crape, and (he manly tread of the soldiery 
measured into melancholy slowness. The State whose troops 
he led into so many fields, claims him as her own, and bears his 
remains to rest, as a holy relic, in her bosom. Amid all the 
pomp of war his countrymen again surround him — again give 
voice to his fame, and again drop a tear into his grave. The 
honors done to Haslett prove that the revolutionary services of 
gallant Irishmen, are not and cannot be forgotten. 

The American public has never withheld its- active sympathy 
from a people struggling for their rights, and why should it now ? 
When the South American States struck for independence, 
their ranks were crowded with Americans j and in our national 



[ 15] 

councils the spirit-stirring and trumpet tones of a Claj boldly 
and successfully advocated national sympathy and interposition 
in their behalf. Where ihen was heard the cold and heartless 
*'/ms/i /" that would now check us when we speak of the wrongs 
of poor Ireland ? 

And when Greece too arose — when every American heart flut- 
tered with sympathy and every American hand was outstretch- 
ed to aid — when legions were mustered upon our own soil, and 
vessel after vessel was sent thither freighted with succours for 
their army — when Webster spoke in Congress for the land of 
Demosthenes, as Demosthenes, had the grave a voice, would 
himself have spoken j where then was this sickly apprehension 
of interference ? 

Or shall we forget the unhappy land of Kosciusco ? when 
Poland, scarred and pallid, but still eager for the fray, arose 
against her Muscovite oppressors, W3<5 not young America 
by her side ? Our voice cheered her, our arm struck for her j 
and even the banners which fluttered over the heruU uftlie pauluts 
were wrought by the hands of American ladies. For, thouo-h 
there are men, the icy portals of whose hearts are closed against 
the plea of suffering mankind, " when went there by a time 
since the great flood" when in the cause of freedom or humanity, 
woman's heart was cold or woman's hand was idle ? 

The struggle of Texas with tl>e exterminating and savage horde 
of the perfidious Santa Anna, and the part taken in it by the 
Americans, are too recent and extraordinary to be for^-otten. It 
is not strange that we espoused the cause of the oppressed j 
when we do not,we will cease to be Americans— cease to be men ;— 
we will dishonor the names of our sires, the soil that drank 
their blood, the graves that cherish their ashes. How well and 
truly that call was responded to, we all know, many of us but 
too well : and when so much was given to Texas, shall a kind 
word— all that Ireland asks— shall a kind word be denied her .^ 
I do not wonder that the cause of Ireland has excited so warm 



[ 16] 

an interest this side the Atlantic. We are not yet so degene- 
rate as to regard indifferently a cause that appeals to us iu the 
sacred name of liberty— a name that we have been taught to 
lisp in our childhood with reverence, to cherish in manhood with 
devotion, to live with it in our hearts, to die with it upon our 
lips ! Liberty ! It is the instinct of an American — a part — a 
glorious part of our existence. With others it is a privilege, 
with us a passion and a joy. I recently passed through a por- 
tion of my native State, and viewed it with rapturous exulta- 
tion. Why did I so regard it ? Was it that her mountains 
pillowed the ruddy cheek of the morning, or that her valleys 
watered by the noblest rivers, rang with the songs of industry 
and gladness ? No, it was not this. It was that these hills and 
vallies were crowded with a yeomanry of princes — men whose 
brows and whose spirits towered, like their own mountains, to 
the heaven— whose hearts were as firm as the rocks that ribbed 
those mountains sides, and as free as the breeze that played on 
their Summits. I am proud of my country for many things, but 
for nothing more, for nothing so much, as her devotion to liberty ; 
not here only, but any where— every where. Any people will 
fight in their own defence— the deer will bend its antlers against 
the hunter, and even the earth worm will turn upon the foot that 
crushes it ; and more cowardly than the deer, more degraded 
than the worm, is he who will not bare his right arm against the 
oppressor. We have done this, we have achieved freedom for 
ourselves; but let us, whenever we lawfully can, do more— do 
more than the Roman or the Spartan ever did— achieve it for 
others. We love liberty for herself. Wherever her altar burns, 
Americans bend over it— wherever her banner waves, Ameri- 
cans do battle beneath it— in whatever clime, beneath whatever 
sky, they share in her triumphs or in her fall ; their shout an' 
nounces her victory— their dust marks the place of her defeat I 
It is an American principle that the wide universe is the 
home of liberty— every people are her children— every shore her 



[ in 

e — every mountain-top her throne — every valley her heri- 
tage. We believe that all men should and will be free ; that 
the spirit of freedom will encompass the world, like its atmos- 
phere, and that the time will come, when, in every clime 

" Prone from its seat oppression will be hurled, 
Its name, its nature, withered from the world." 

The friends of Ireland have done much, but they have much 
yet to do. Let them onward. They have no ground for des- 
pondency, but if they had, it would be a treason. Despair of 
your country ! You are a father — you have perhaps seen your 
child gasping upon the pillow and its cheeks whiter than the 
linen — its little limbs convulsed — ^its gentle face clammy. Did 
you despair? No, you clung to life and hope, till the last : 
you clasped your fading treasure as with a death-clasp, and 
would not, could not let it go ! Even when the angel of death 
had spoken, when its feeble gaspings had ceased, and all was 
still, and cold, and ghastly — you 'yet ventured to hope against 
hope ; explored the lustreless eye for some gleam of life, and 
felt the stilled pulse for some faint flutter of vitality. 

Thus should the patriot love his country, and thus should he 
watch over and cling to it ! He who loves, never relaxes ; he 
may die, but never despair j and in the last gush of life, the 
prayer which commends his country to his God, is full of the 
pride of the patriot and the confidence of the martyr. In this 
sacred cause " never sayfailP Let us on the contrary indulge 
a hope that our next festival will be the celebration of Irish in- 
dependence. In that moment of triumph, how full of joy and 
gratitude, will be the aspiration that sends to Heaven the blend- 
ed sentiments of Hail Columbia and Erin Go Brash! 



[From the Truth Teller.] 



FOURTH OF JULY— REPEAL— PHILADELPHIA. 



We would refer our readers to the proceedings of the *' Re- 
pealers" of Philadelphia, published on our fifth page. They do 
credit to the Patriotic Friends of Ireland, in Philadelphia, and 
tend to cheer on the Friends of Repeal throughout the Union, to 
proceed with vigour in their praiseworthy and hallowed under- 
taking. We rejoice to observe that Repeal Associations are 
raising in all parts of the Union. 

The proceedings of the meeting in Buffalo are exceedingly in- 
teresting, and we regret our limits prevent us from publishing 
them. We are pleased to observe that our friend Patrick Mil- 
ton, Esq., has been chosen one of the Vice-Presidents of the 
Association, a better patriot could not be appointed. 

In Philadelphia, the Repeal Association, celebrated on Mon- 
day last, the Anniversary of Independence, in a style far exceed- 
ing that of any other city. The fine weather presented an ad- 
mirable opportunity for the grand procession on the occasion. — 
The splendid oanner and its beautiful decorations excited general 
and deserved approbation. The column, whilst on its march, 
extended far beyond a mile, and was composed of as noble look- 
ing men as ever appeared on any public occasion. 

A delegation from the city of New-York, among whom were 
Messrs. J. W. McKeon, E. J. Derry, L. Langton, M. Gaffney, 
Charles M. Nanry, Wm. Denman, and others, attended the 
celebration, by invitation. Similar delegations were present 
from Harrisburg and Lancaster. After proceeding through tha 



[19] 

principal streets of the city, they proceeded to the Arch Stree* 
Theatre, which vvas crowded to suffocation by the immense as- 
semblage which thronged the building from pit to dome. 



We had proceeded with our narrative thus far, when we re- 
ceived the following excellent account of the day's celebration, 
from a highly valued friend and correspondent in Philadelphia. 
We willingly give iiim the preference, having it in our power to 
testify to its correctness from personal observation. We take 
pleasure in stating it as our opinion, that the celebration of the 
Fourth of July, 1841, was indeed a proud day for the Repealers 
of Philadelphia, as well as the Repealers of Ireland — one which 
will be long treasured up in the minds of those who witnessed 
the imposing procession, and which places the Repeal Associa- 
tion of Philadelphia in the vanguard of the Repealers of the 
United States. May it continue to hold its pre-eminence. 



FRIENDS OF IRELAND IN PHILADELPHIA. 

" The American Cock crowing at the other side of the At- 
lantic shall awaken Ireland from her distressing slumbers, and 
bid her arise to enjoy a day of light and happiness. '^ — Daniel 
O' Conned. 

Monday was indeed a proud day for the friends of Ireland 1 
Never did the American cock crow louder or mure cheerfully! 
Lively as this great city usually is on the Anniversary of our In- 
dependence as a Nation, never did it exhibit so much spirit, so 
much joy, as on that day on which was celebrated that glorious 
event. The whole city seemed to be in movement, all waiting 
with anxiety to witness tlie proceedings ot the Repealers. Re- 
peal! repeal! repeal! flowed from the lips of the old and the 
young, tlie grave and the gay, the native, as well as the adopted 
citizen. 

Long before noon, the hour of meeting at the District Court 
Room by the Repeal Association, crowds had assembled round 
the building, and when the doors were thrown open there was a 
tremendous rush of thousands into the room to obtain seats. One 
half, of course, could not get in. Scarce had the President, 
Judge Doran, taken his seat, than a motion was made and car- 



[20] 

ried, to adjourn at once to Independence Square, in order that 
all might see and hear. On asseinhling in the square, the num- 
ber of persons present was immense, and yet the utmost good 
order and decorum prevailed during the whole of the proceed- 
ings. As the procession was to start precisely at one o'clock, 
there was only one hour lor business, and yet in the course of 
that hour one hundred gentlemen came forward and were elect- 
ed members, the talented Attorney General, Mr. C. Wallace 
Brooke being amongst them. Every one paid his contribution 
money. A number of letters were read, including those of the 
Boston, Wilmington, Norristown, and New York Repeal As- 
sociations ; and last, not least, a goud letter from our able friend 
of the New York Truth-Teller, William Denman, Esq. At 
one o'clock the line of march was formed, and the procession 
proceeded up Chesnut street, the Hibernia Greens, commanded 
by Lieutenant commanding, Frederick Mullen, the Montgome- 
ry Hibernia Greens, Captain Rdbert Flanagan, and a new vo- 
lunteer company, ununifurmed, called the Irish volunteers, and 
commanded by Myles Tullv, Esq., being in front, with their 
iine bands of music playing Hail Columbia, Erin Go Bragh, and 
other such soul-stirring airs. Both companies Greens turned 
out strong, and marched with a precision worthy of the best dis- 
ciplined troops. Their whole appearance was extremely beau- 
tiful. The whole streets were lined with spectators, while 
every window was tilled with ladies waving their handkerchiefs 
as the procession passed by. What Irish heart did not beat with 
emotion at the gl(»rious spectacle, and its reception Dy the fair 
daughters of America ? The Lancaster Repealers, to the num- 
ber of forty-five, under the conimand of Col. Reah Frazer, with 
their beautiful banner, made a most imposing appearance, and 
held a most honctrable post in the procession. Judge Doran, 
Judge Conrad, and Alderman Binns, rode in the first barouche, 
the New York Delegation in the second, which was drawn by 
four noble horses, and in the third were Dr. Morrison, the Pre- 
sident of the Buenos Ayres Repeal Society, Ex-Sheril!" Strem- 
beck.the revolutionary soldier, and Messrs. Benjamin P. Binns 
and William McCart, a special delegation from the exiled pa- 
triots of '98. Mr. Binns was appropriately dressed as a United 
Irishman, and Judge Doran, as president of the Association, 
wore a blue and green cockade. Then came, in soldiery move- 
ment, the Philadelphia Repealers, in sections of four, and n\im- 
htv'in^ tico thousand well-looking, highly respectable men, all 
having their repeal badges on their left breast. 

The Chief Marsiial, William Doherty, and his aids, John 
Killion, Peter Mead, Major Robert F. Christy, Major John 
Fegan, and Col. Thomas L». Florence, rode on horseback and 



[ 21 1 

directed the procession most skilfully, assisted as thej were by 
the following Mar&hals on foot : 

Col. James Goodman, Thomas Doyle, Col. John Thompson, 
Christopher Dunn, William Loughlin, James Doherty, Charles 
R. Kay, Joseph Collins, James Cosgrove, Michael Kelly, Rich- 
ard McCunney, Joseph A. McDaniels, James Carroll, Thomas 
Crilly, Michael Barr, John Divin, Charles McDonough, An- 
thony Tully, John Lochrey, E. Penrose Jones, Edward VVaters. 

The Chief Marshal and his aids, as well as the other Mar- 
shals, wore green and gold sashes surmounted by a blue rosette, 
■which added much to the effect of the scene. Nothing can be 
imagined tiner than these sashes. Rich with gold bullion and 
spangles, they were admired by all, particularly by the ladies. 
The magnificent banner of the Association was borne by Mr. 
Thomas Logue, formerly of the county of Tyrone, the whole 
distance of the route, for which he deserves great credit j and 
Major John Fegan's splendid flag, which he procured at his 
own expense, was there "in all its glory," and commanded 
universal praise. 

On that day the gallant Major presented it to the Associatian, 
and a costly and precious gift it was. The ground of the ban- 
ner is of a rich green color : it represents America leaning upon 
a harp, with her left hand resting upon the Shield of Freedom ; 
this figure is clothed in a blue robe, the upper part of which is 
studded with gilded bees, emblematical of the industry of the 
people of this country — and its lower part with birds, beasts 
and serpents, as indicative of the pure and uncultivated times 
of the Aborigines. Upon the head of another female is the 
" coronna mvrilis," or the cup of Cybele, mother of heaven and 
earth, representing the battlement of the walls; over these 
figures is inscribed in gold letters, "Erin go bragh.' On the 
top of the harp is a profile likeness of the patron Saint of old 
Ireland, St. Patrick. On the back of the banner we find the 
following motto : "Universal, civilized, religious liberty. " The 
banner is neatly executed, and gorgeously trimmed. It was 
painted by Mr. M'Clelland. 

The procession passed through the city, thence to Moyamen- 
sing and Southwark, into the city again, thence to Kensington, 
and from thence into the Arch Street Theatre. Wherever the 
procession went, it was received with a thousand welcomes, 
clearly showing how popular the repeal cause is. The boxes 
of the Arch Street Theatre were filled with ladies of fashioa 
and beauty long before the procession arrived there, which was 
about 4 o'clock. The pit was reserved for the members. In 
Kensington we saw Mr. James Lucas's house beautifully deco- 
rated with flags, and with a scroll on which was written— 



[ 22] 

<' Without the spint of Democracy, governors are tyrants, and 
the people are slaves." — O^ConneU. At the Theatre', every part 
of which was filled, Judge Doran opened the proceedings with 
a few remarks, and was followed by Alderman Binns, who 
read the Declaration of Independence. Then was delivered 
Judge Conrad's masterly oration on Repeal, almost every sen- 
tence of which was received with rounds of applause. Judge 
Doran afterwards called on the very Rev. Dr. Moriarty, and 
the doctor responded in an extemporaneous speech of great 
beauty and eloquence. Judge Conrad's oration, in compliance 
with a general request of the members, will be published this 
week. Judge Doran spoke of the intense interest shown by the 
Lancaster, Harrisburg, and New^ York Repeal Societies in this 
public procession, and moved a vote of thanks to them, which 
was unanimously passed with nine cheers to those patriotic 
bodies. Thanks were also given to Alderman Binns, Judge 
Conrad, Dr. Morrison, and to Dr. Moriarty, and those gentl'e- 
men of the Temperance Societies who had" joined the proces- 
sion. At a quarter past 6 o'clock the Association adjourned, 
to iiieet on next Monday evening at the District Court Room, 
with tiine loud cheers for Old Ireland, O'Connell, and Repeal, 
in which all the ladies in the Theatre united most heartily, 
waving their handkerchiefs and clapping their hands, speaking, 
in language which cannot be misunderstood, the unanimous 
voice of America — 

Erin I oh, Erin ! thy winter is past, 

And the hope that lived through it shall bloBSOin at last. 



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